Acetylene generator



Feb. 1, 1938. I M. m: MOTTE ACETYLENE GENERATOR Filed Aug. 2,1934

2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR MAURCE P-DEMOTTE BY Z ATTORNEY lll'll M. P. DE MOTTE 2,106,971

AGETYLENE GENERATOR Feb. 1,1938.

Filed Aug. 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- INVENTOR JJ5 MAURICE P. DE MOTTE ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,106,971 ACETYLENE GENERATOR York Application August 2, 1934. Serial No. 738.099

13 Claims.

The invention relates to acetylene generators and more particularly to a pressure regulator and filter especially adapted for use with such generators, and also to the construction and relative sizeof such regulator and filter, and to the relative location of such-regulator and filter with respect to the generator and the component features thereof that cooperate with'the regulatory and filter.

In acetylene generators provided with a pressure regulator it has been the custom heretofore to connect the regulator intoa system of piping located outside of the generator; This construction usually requires considerable piping with numerous threaded joints that are subject to leakage, and requiresthe regulatorto be positioned in a locationwhere it is difiicult to protect it from mechanical injury, especially in the case of portable generators. Therefore, one of the objects of this invention is to provide such a generator with a pressure regulator having the regulating mechanism located substantially within the generator where it is protected from injury and where the connecting piping between the generator and regulator inlet is entirely eliminated.

Regulators of this type are usually provided with a filter to prevent any dust within the generator from entering the regulator and interfering with its operation; but such filters are usually relatively small in size so that they require frequent cleaning, and they are usually located within the regulator where they are difilcult to reach and remove. Therefore, another object of this invention is toprovide such a regulator with a relatively large filter located outside of the regulator within the generator adjacent one of the openings in the generator casing where it may be readily removed and cleaned. I

Other objects are to provide such a generator with a regulator having the gas inlet to the regulator within the generator casing and the gas outlet of the regulator outside of the generator casing, and to provide'the inlet of such regulatorlocation of the pressure regulator;

Fig.2 is a horizontal sectional view of the generator along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with part of the (ems-s) I hopper broken away to show the relative location of the regulator, filter, and the handhole or cleanout door;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the isolated regulator and filter of Figs. 1 and 2 showingthe means for securing the filter to the regulator; I

Fig. 4 is a view of the inside end of the isolated regulator and filter showing the shape of the filter and also the means for securing the filter to the regulator; and, i

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the, regulator and filter taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4 showing the construction and relative arrangement of the component parts. 7 V 7 The embodiment of the invention shown by the drawings'may consist of an "acetylene generator comprising a lower water containing section A and an upper gas and carbide hopper containing section B having a recess or chamber Cin one side thereof for the auxiliary or gas control accessory equipment .with which such generators rare usually provided. This accessory equipment includes a pressure regulator III which may be located in any suitable protected position such as within an opening in-the outer wall or casing of the generator, and preferably within an opening Illa in the partition ll between the gas chamber B and the recess C. Although the regulator Ill may be mounted in any suitable manner it is preferably provided with a surrounding annular flange I! that may be secured directly to the partition H but, due to the curvature of the partition, may be more conveniently secured'to a flange ring l3 surrounding the opening Illa therein for the regulator and secured thereto by suitable means such as an autogenous weld. The supporting flange l2 may be located at any suitable position between,

the inlet and the outlet of the regulator but it 'is preferably located near the front or outer end so that the larger portion of the regulator is within the generator where it is protected from mechanical injury.

The regulator may comprise a body I4 and a cap l5 provided with respective cooperating flanges l6 and I1 conventionally secured to a diaphragm l8 which operates a valve l9 that controls the fiow of gas from an inlet 20 to a' chamber 2|. Variations in gas pressure within the chamber move the diaphragm against the pressure of a control spring 22, which is adjustable from the outside of the regulator by manual movement of an adjustable operating handle 23. To conduct the gas from the low or reduced pressure chamber 2| to the outside of the generator the regulator may be provided with a gas outlet passage 2,1oe,971 I inside of the filter casing w inlet '20 may" be provided by spacing the end plate 34 of the filter casing 32.,fasuitable distance from the outer end of boss 3| in which inlet 20 is located, and free passage of gas into the filter may be obtained by spacing the filter and retaining plate 36 a cessory equipment with which the generator is I provided. By thus providinga generator with a pressure regulator mounted in an opening in the outer wall, the inlet 20 of the regulator is within the generator and all piping between the generator and the inlet is obviated. Also, as the outlet 21 of the regulator is outsidethe generator the amount of piping between the outlet and other portions of the generator equipment may be ma-v terially reduced, and as the operating handle 23 and the breather hole 23 are both outside of the generator no stufiing boa? or other connection is necessary.

In order to =remove .dustand other foreign matter, from the gas entering the regulator the inlet may be provided with a suitable filter, and

to obviate the necessity for; frequent cleaning,

the filter may be of relatively large :size; The

suitable distance from the body M of the regulator, and this relative spacing ,may be maintained by providing boss 31 with a suitable shoulder such as 42' or other means for locating the filter with respect to the body of the regulator.

" 'Thefilter may be of any suitable size and it .may be secured to the regulator in any suitable ,cured to the regulator so-that it'may be readily 20 removed without the use of tools, or the removal filter may consist of any suitable' filter material such as one or more rings for-discs of porous ,filter felt 30- each -op'eningtherein,

inclosed in a container such as an impervious filter-casing 32- having a sidewall of suitable shape, such as. an imperforate cylindrical side wall 33, fitting the outer annular edges, periphery, or margin of the filter sheets 30, and'a suit- 4 able-end preferably spaced from the filter sheets 30, such as a-fiat impertorate plate 34, which may be" secured tortheend plate =34 of filter casing 32 by any conventional gfastening such asmay havean outer. margin provided with an intumedflflange 35 secured to the' side wall as by suitable meanssuch as an autogenous weld.

The, relative location oi? the filter sheets 30 and thecontaine'r, 32 may be maintained, and

the sides of the filter sheets may be supported ,bysuitable retaining plates 36 and 31, each securedwithin casing 32 in close contact with one also within the casing 32. .A suitable space for the free w m 1- of gas from the inner] surface of the filterto the inlet of the regulator may be provided by spacing the filter, and retaining plate 3'! a suitable distance from the end plate relation may be maintainedv by suitable spacing means such as a spacing ring 33 extending around 7 the-inner face oi! flange between end plate I andzretaining plate 31. The-filter sheets III may be removably retained in casing 32 by providing, retaining plate. 36 with suitable latching or detaining means suchv as two or more-outwardly extending catches 40 that fit in alike number of respective cooperating bayonet type openingsr-ll-in. the'inneredge of the side wall 33 ot-casin'g 32. A free gas passage from the is removed for cleaning, it may belprovided with safety means such as a safety chain 148 having.

manner but to avoid frequent cleaning it is prefer'ably comparatively large so that its outer diameter is substantially-the same as the diameter of the flanges "I6 and ll of the regulator body, and to facilitate removal'pf the filter from the regu-v lator for inspection and cleaning it may be seof securing means such as boltaidr-screws that might accidentally fall into. thetgenerator and cause trouble or delay. Fonexample, the filter may ,besecured to the'r egulator by one or more resilient latches or spring clips :43 .that are rigidly secured to the regulator. andzsn'ap'or latch 7 over the outer face/of the -filter casing. The

spring chps preferably,lie close to -.the side oi 1 the regulator and filter and. each' may be 'provided with an overturned endhaving an opening therein of suitable size to receive one of the diaphragm securing bolts by which it is rigidly secured to the regulator; and alsoewith' 'a' suitably formed-inturned end Hath-at: overliesthe outermargin of the end plate-flt of-a'the filtercasing 32 and normally holds-'thevfilter'zim oper-l ative relation with the regulator,ybut--may-" be'- manually moved out of engagement with: the

filter when it is desirable. from the regulator.

to remove the filter one or more autogenous welds 41; and to obviate the possibility of dropping the filter into the} water in the bottom of the generator when" it one'end secured to the gregulator and the other secured to the filterby any suitable conventional taining plate 136, throughthe porous sheets of I I filter material 30, andthrough the openings in a 34.01 .the-filter-container 32, and this spaced it is free to. pass 'rnto-,,the"-inletw20 of the regua lator when valve,- lll is open:,

The filter and'mostaioiwthe regulator is within I' the gas chamber otthewgenerator and access tothe filter without removing or detaching the'reg erator with a handhole or cleanout opening 43 located adjacent the 'filt'erand" the inner end of the regulator.. :This opening may be of conventional type provided with a manually remov-- able closure or cover ,50- which may be removed to enable an operator tov'readily reachthe filter.

ulator may be-fa'cilitated by providing the gention for sake of brevity, may be of a conventional nature as the features described may be employed with generators and regulators of various kinds. A generator provided with a chamber or recess, such as that shown at C in this application, 'is shown, claimed, and more particularly described in a copending application of Maurice P. De Motte and Clarence H..Baker, Serial No. 739,731, filed August 14, 1934..

The exact shape, form, and relative arrangement of the component parts shown and described are not imperative but are given .as an example of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and" it is understood that they may be changed or altered and that other similar or equivalent component parts and materials may be substituted without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. An acetylene generator comprising a casing enclosing a gas generating chamber, said casing including a wall having a hole therethroughv opening into said chamber; a gas delivery conduit extending through said hole into said chamber, adapted to communicate with said chamber and to convey acetylene gas therefrom to a gas distributing device; and mechanism responsive to pressure within said delivery conduit for controlling the fiow of gas from said chamber into saidconduit, said conduit passing through said pressure-responsive mechanism, said mechanism being enclosed within a housing, the major portion of which is disposed within said chamber, said mechanism, housing and conduit being removably mounted on said wall and removable as a unit from said chamber through said hole.

2. An acetylene generator as claimed in claim 1, in which the vertical wall of the casing has another hole therethrough which is so disposed relatively to the first-mentioned hole that the inner end of said housing is accessible by reaching through said other hole, and removable means for normally closing such other hole.

3. An acetylene generator comprising a casing enclosing a gas generating chamber, said casing including a wall having an opening therethrough; a gas delivery conduit adapted to communicate with said generating chamber; mechanism, operating responsively to the gas pressure within said delivery conduit, for controlling the flow of gas from said generating chamber into said delivery conduit, said conduit passing through said pressure-responsive mechanism,

said mechanism comprising a supporting body including a housing therefor removably mounted in said opening and extending into said gener-- ating chamber whereby the major portion of said mechanism is positioned within said chamber; and gas filtering means constructed and 'ar-' ranged to filter gas flowing from said chamber into said conduit, said'filtering means being suphaving an opening there-' 5. An acetylene generator comprising a casing enclosing a gas chamber, said casing including a vertical wall having a hole therethrough opening into said chamber; a housing removably secured to said wall and extending through said opening into said chamber, said housing having a passage therethrcugh extending to the outside 7 of said generator and constituting a gas delivery conduit adapted to communicate with said chamber; and mechanism for controlling the flow of gas from said chamber into said passage, such mechanism comprising a diaphragm within said chamber, carried by said housing, and through which said passage extends, and a valve within said chamber and associated with said diaphragm. 1

6. An acetylene generator as claimed in claim 5, including a filtering device removably mounted on said housing and adapted to filter gas flowing from said chamber into said passage and before such gas reaches said valve, said device and mechanism being removable from said generator as a unit upon removing said housing from said hole..

7. An acetylene generator as claimed in claim 5, including a gas filtering device removably mounted onsaid housing within said chamber, the vertical wall of said casinghaving another hole therethrough which is of such size and so disposed relatively to the first-mentioned hole that said device is accessible and removable from said chamber through such other hole, and res movable means for normally closing such other hole.

8. Anacetylene generator comprising a casing enclosing a gas generating chamber, a portion of a vertical side of said casing extending inwardly to provide an exterior recess accessible from the' outside of the generator, such inwardly-extending wall portion having an opening therethrough into said chamber; a gas delivery conduit adapted to communicate with said generating chamber; and mechanism, mounted in said opening and operating responsively to the gas pressure within said delivery conduit, for controlling the flow of gas from said generating chamber into said delivery conduit, said mechanism including a manually operable device within said exterior recess for so adjusting said mechanism that gas at a predetermined pressure will flow from said generating chamber into said delivery conduit.

9. An acetylene generator as claimed in claim 8, including door means for closingv said recess, said door means being coextensive with the parts of said vertical side adjoining said recess.

10. Anacetylene generator as claimed in claim 8, in which said mechanism comprises a supporting body extending into said generating chamber and having a passage extending therethrough from said chamber to said recess and constituting a portion of said gas delivery conduit; and a filter mounted solely on said body within said chamber ahead of the inlet of said passage, to filter gas flowing from said chamber into said passage.

11. A fluid pressure regulator for acetylene generators comprising a fiuid inlet; a spring sively to fluid pressure variations in said conduit; a spring insaid chamber bearing against said diaphragm; and a valve operable by said diaphragm to control the flow of fluid from said 0 inlet to said conduit.

12. A fluid pressure regulator as claimed in claim 11, in which the axes of said spring and valve and :inlet are in alignment, and the axis of said conduit is spaced from and substantially parallel to such aligned axes.

, 13. A fluid pressure regulator as claimed in claim 11, including a chamber for said valve, and

an annular fluid flltering device removably mounted on the outer wall of such valve chamber.

MAURICE P. DE MO'I'I'E. 

